Jointer-knife guard.



No. 764,168 PATENTED JULY 5, 1904.

A. UETZ.

JOINTER KNIFE GUARD.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

Httomeqs UNITED STATES Patented July 5, 1904.

ANDREW UETZ, OF EAU CLAIRE, 'WISCONSIN.

dOlNTER-KNIFE GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 764,168, dated July 5, 1904.

Application filed March 29, 1904.

T0 at whom it, may concern.-

Be it known that I, AND EW UETZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eau Claire, in the county of Eau Claire and State ofWisconsin, have invented a new and useful Jointer- Knife Guard, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to planing-machines, being especially directed to a guard or shield for the jointer or planing knives, and has for its objects to produce a simple inexpensive device of this character which will overlie and shield the knives to prevent contact of the operators fingers therewith, one in which the members composing the guard will yield independently or en masse under the influence of material passing through the machine, and one in which the shield may be locked in its inactive position when circumstances require.

To these ends the invention comprises the novel features of construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a planing-machine having my invention embodied therein. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of a portion of the machine and the knife-guard. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the crankshaft. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the bed or table of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the framework of the machine, 2 the bed or table sustained thereby and over which the material to be planed is passed, and 3 the rotary planerhead extending transversely across the machine and carrying the adjustable jointer or planer knives or blades 4, there being provided in the bed 2 an opening 5, through which the blades may act upon the material under treatment. These parts, except as hereinafter explained, are of the usual or any preferred construction and material, inasmuch as they constitute no part of my invention.

In accordance with my invention I mount within the machine, vertically beneath and suitably remote from the head 3, a transverse shaft 6, sustained at its ends in bearings 7, having oppositely disposed bearing bolts 8, which engage and fix the shaft against rota- Serial No. 200,581. (No model.)

tion and are adapted for operation to adjust the shaft vertically toward and from the head 3.

Mounted upon and carried by the shaft6 is my improved guard or shield 9, comprising a series of upwardly and rearwardly inclined arms or members 10, provided at their upper ends with angularly-disposed portions or fingers 11, adapted in practice to normally extend horizontally over and bridge the opening 5 in the bed or table above the rotary head 3. The guard 9 is of a width substantially equal,

ing the width of the table 2, or, in other words, equal to the length of the planer-head 3, while the members 10 composing the guard are loosely pivoted for independent swinging movement upon the shaft 6 and are spaced uniformly one from another by means of spacing members or washers 12.

The bed 2 is provided in its forward end adjacent to the opening5 with a series of lon- .gitudinal slots or guideways 13, these slots which receive and guide the upper ends of the members 10 during the movement of the latter being disposed in uniformly-spaced relation transversely of the bed and equaling in number the number of members 10 composing the guard, While the .lower ends of said members are provided with forwardly-projectin g angular portions 14, preferably formed integral with the members and suitably enlarged to constitute gravity-weights which counterbalance the members for maintaining them normally in active position.

Attention is here directed to the fact that in practice as the lumber or other material to be acted upon is passed over the bed 2 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 the members 10 will move to the inactive position designated by dotted lines in said figure and will after the material has passed return automatically to the active full-line position. Furthermore, owing to the members being adapted for independent movement any number thereof, according to the width of the board being planed, may yield under the influence of the latter without aflfecting the remaining members, which will thus continue in their active or guardingposition to shield the portion or portions of the head 3 which for the time being is not in action upon the material. It is also to be noted that owing to the adjustability of the shaft 6 in a vertical plane, as heretofore described, the portions or fingers 11 of the guard may be approached toward or receded from the head 3, as circumstances require.

In order that the entire guard may be thrown and locked out of action while adjusting or removing or replacing the knives 1, I provide a locking device, preferably in the form of a crank-shaft 15, the ends of which are seated in suitable bearings 16, carried by the framework 1 and provided with opposed adjusting devices or screws 17, the cranked portion of the shaft being adapted to normally lie beneath and out of contact with the lower angular portions 14 of the guard members and upon rotation or rocking of the shaft to be moved into engagement with the latter for throwing the members to the inactive dotted-line position indicated in Fig. 2. Pivoted to one end of the shaft 15 is an opcrating-handle 17, by which the shaft may be manipulated, said handle being adapted to be swung to a vertical position between and in engagement with a pair of pins or stops 18, whereby the shaft is fixed against movement. Attention is directed to the fact that the handle is pivoted to the adjacent end of the shaft to swing in a vertical plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the latter and except when released for the purpose of rotating the shaft constantly remains in engagement with the pins 18 for locking the shaft against movement, whether the members 10 be in active or inactive position.

From the foregoing it is apparent that I produce a simple inexpensive device which Will eificiently perform its functions to the attainment of the ends in View, it being understood that various minor changes may be made in the details herein set forth without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a planing-machine, the combination with a bed or table having a plurality of independent guideways, of a planer member, and a guard or shield for the latter comprising a plurality of spaced members bearing respectively in the guideways.

2. In a planing-machine, the combination with a bed or table having a plurality of longitudinal slots spaced transversely one from another, of a planer member, and a guard or shield for the latter comprising a plurality of spaced members bearing and moving respectively in said slots.

3. In a planing-machine, the combination with a planing member, of a guard or shield therefor, means for maintaining the guard normally in active position, a crank-shaft adapted for engagement with and operable for moving the guard to inactive position, an operating handle pivotally connected with and adapted to swing in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the crank-shaft, and a pair of spaced stops adapted to receive the handle between them to lock the shaft against movement.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ANDREW UET Z.

Witnesses:

J AMES WIOKHAIWI, L. M. MGCUMBER. 

